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I A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. AJBRYSON, Jr. PNEUMATIC DISPATCH APPARATUS.

, No. 422,498. Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. BRY'SON, J1". A PNEUMATIC DISPATCH APPARATUS.

1 10.422,498. I Patentd Mar. 4, 1890 avwewboz @z keu; 67.11/1

NA PETERS. PhultrLnhcgraphcr. Washi nnnnnnn Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW BRYS ON, JR., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PNEUMATIC DISPATCH APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,498, dated March 4, 1890.

Application filedDecember 13, 1889. Serial No. 333,620. (No model.)

To all whom. it 112,041 concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW BRYsON, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county and Stateof New York, have invented new and useful I1nprovements in Receivers for Pneumatic Dispatch, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to receivers of that description in which the incoming carrier is brought up against an air-cushion; and it consists in means whereby an abutment is automatically and continuously presented in the tube for the compression of the air at all times while a carrier is passing into or out of the receiver; and my invention consists of two gates located in the tube in such relation to each other that an incoming carrier compresses the air against one of the gates on approaching the receiver and on entering the receiver closes the gate in its rear and opens the gate in front of it by means of mechanism actuated by the compressed air; and it further consists in a device whereby on the exit of the carrier from the receiver the normal position of the gates is again automatically restored.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate .my invention, Figure 1 is a side view,

partly in section, of a pneumatic tube provided with my receiver. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; and Fig. 3 is an end view on the line 00 as of Fig. 2, partly in crossrsection, 0 the air-reservoir, valve, and tube. A is a receiver at the end of a closed pneumatic tube B, the other end of the tube being connected to the side of a main or .branch tube through which a carrier is to be sent. The tube 13, which is located at the extremities of the main tube and of its branches, is

. on a grade, as shown, to insure the passage of the carrier by its own momentum to the extreme end of the receiving-box A after having left the main tube and plunged into the open end of tube B.

C O are valves or gates at each end of the receiver A, actuated by the cylinders D D,

to which they areconnected by the rods E E and pistons F F. The gates O C, with their respective cylindersD D and connections, are located the one below the other above tube B, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, sothat they may be moved .in one direction by gravity. The top of cylinder D is pierced with a number of apertures d for the exit and entrance of air on the rise and fall of the piston F, and cylinder D is also provided with an adj ustable valve d for the exit of the air on the rise of its pistonF.

Gr is an air-reservoir of suitable capacity, connected by a tube H to the receiver A, and having a valve h so adjusted that when the pressure of the air in the receiver exceeds that in the reservoir the valve 7?. lifts and the air is forced through the tube I-l until the pressure is equalized, when the valve it closes and prevents the escape of the air from the reservoir.

I is a tube leading from the reservoir G to a'valve J, having two ports j j.

K is a tube connecting the valveJ with the bottom of cylinder D, and L is a tube connecting the lower end of cylinder D to cylinder D at a sufficient distance from the top of the latter to allow of the passage of air from one to the other when the piston F is at the top of its cylinder. A pivoted lever M and bar in connect the valve J with a plate N'in the receiver A in such wise that when the plate N is depressed the valve J is revolved so as to connect pipes I and K through ports j and j, thus putting the reservoir Gr and cylinder D into communication. A second lever 0, having a plate P at one extremity, projecting into the tube ]3 beyond the gate 0', has its other arm connected to lever M,so that on depressing the plate P the plate N is raised and the valve J is revolved back, closing portj' and opening port j of the tube K.

Q is a safety-valve on thereservoir G.

R is aregulating-valve located in tube K, to control the escape of the air from cylinder D through the port j of the valve J.

The receiver A being in the normal position shown in Fig. 1, in which the gate 0 is closed, the gate 0 open, and port j closed by the elevation of plate N, its operation is as follows: The incoming carrier compresses the air against gate 0 as it approaches, the compressed air opening valve h, and charging the reservoir G through pipe I-I, until the pressure in the reservoir and the receiver becoming equal, the valve drops to its seat, closing the reservoir and preventing any escape of air in that direction. Passing through the open gate 0, the carrier reaches the farther end of the receiver A, where it rides over the plate N, depressing the lever M, and 5 revolves the valve J, putting the compressed airin the reservoir G into communication with the cylinder D through pipe I, ports j and j of valve J, and pipe K. The compressed air entering the cylinder D raises piston F and closes gate 0, the air in the rear of the piston escaping through the adjustable valve d. Gate C being now closed, the way is opened for the compressed air through tube L tocylinder D, where it lifts the piston F, and with r 5 its rise opens gate 0, the air in the rear of the piston escaping through the apertures cl. The carrier now passes out, depressing plate P in its exit, and returning valve J and plate N to their first positions by means of the levers O M m. The return of the valve J closes the communication between the reservoir G and cylinders D D, opens port j, and allows the compressed air in the cylinders D and D to escape, gate 0 closing and gate 0 opening by gravity and expelling the air by their weight.

As it is desirable to have gate C close more rapidly than gate C opens, I make the pipe L of larger dimensions than pipe K and adjust the valve (1 in cylinder D and the regulatingvalve R in such wise that after piston F has fallen below theopenin g of pipe L it will move more slowly, while the air from the cylinder D will escape more rapidly through the valve d. I thus accomplish the desirable result of always having one orthe other of the'gates (l (1' at each end of the receiver closed so as to secure a dead end of pipe being always exposed to an incoming carrier, enabling the carrier to compress the air in front of it, and thus gradually be brought to a state of rest. Vhere carriers are sent from two or more stations at about the same instant, all bound for the same station, the firstto arrive, as itpasses from the branch or main tube, plunges down m. by its own momentum into the open end of the tube B, sucks the air behind itthrough the open end, enters the receiver, closes the gate 0, and the following carrier is thus at once provided with an air-cushion against the closed gate.

The reservoir G is of suifieient size to operate the gates for several carriers in succession without recharging, but when the interval between arriving carriers is not too short the recharging is done automatically by the carrier and the pressure is kept up, as I have described. A gage is, however, provided, and a hand air-pump, so that in case of leakage or a failure of the supply the reservoir may be recharged in a short time; but this will rarely happen, and the pump is provided only as a precaution against a remote contingency.

It is evident that in place of charging the 6 5 reservoir G by means of the compression produced by the approaching carrier, I may dispense with the pipe II and its valve h and charge the reservoir by other means, as shown, as by steam, and use only the plate and lever connections for throwing the reservoir into and out of connection with the gate-cylinders without departing from the spirit of my in vention, and in this case it is not essential that the gate to be operated be located in the tube. a

In place of locating the gates and their cylinders above and below the tube they may be placed at the sides and connected with countcr-weights in any well-known way.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isa 1. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a carrier and a gate closing the tube and actuated by the air compressed by the momentum of the carrier, substantially as de scribed.

2. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a gate closing the tube, an air-reservoir, and a suitable connection between the tube and reservoir, whereby the air compressed against the gate by an approaching carrier is caused to charge the reservoir, substantially as described. I a

3. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, 5 of a gate located in the tube, a cylinder and piston actuating the gate, and suitable connections between the tube and cylinder,whereby the air compressed by the approaching carrier is caused to operate the gate, substantiall y as described.

4. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a gate located in the tube, its actuating cylinder and piston, an air-reservoir, and suitable conncctions between the tube, the air- I05 reservoir, and the gate-cylinder, whereby the air compressed by an approaching carrier is caused to charge the reservoir and then to opcrate the gate, substantially as described,

5. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a gate, its actuating cylinder and piston, an air-reservoir, suitable connections between the reservoir and cylinder, and a device located in the tube for connecting and disconnecting the reservoir and cylinder, whereby a carrier passing through the tube will automatically connect and disconnect the cylinder and reservoir, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a receiver consisting of two gates located in the tube, their actuating cylinders and pistons, suitable connections between the cylin ders and the tube, and a carrier, whereby the passage of a carrier through the tube auto matically opens and closes the gates alterr2 5 nately, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with a pneumatic tube, of a receiver consisting of two gates located in the tube, their actuating cylinders and t 0 pistons, an air-reservoir, and suitable connec tions between the air-reservoir, the cylinders, and the tube, whereby the approach of a carrier to and passage through the receiver au-= tomatically charges the reservoir and alter-,

'in the tube, suitable connections between the gates and the tube automatically actuated by the passage of a carrier, and a carrier, whereby on the passage of a carrier throughthe tube the gates are automatically-and alternately opened and closed, substantially as and for the purpose described.

10. The combination of the tube B, the gate 0, the reservoir G, the pipe H, and the valve h, whereby on the approach of a carrier the air is compressed against the gate and the reservoir charged, substantially as set forth.

11. The combination of the tube 13, the gate 0, its cylinder D, having the valve d and piston F, the reservoir G, the tube 1, the valve J, and the tube K, whereby the air from the reservoir passes into the cylinder and escapes again for the purpose of raising and lowering the gate, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination of the tube B, the gate C, its cylinder D, valve d,'and piston F, the reservoir G, the tube I, the tube K the valve J, the plate N, and its lever-connections, whereby on the passage of a carrier over the plate the valve J is caused to connect the reservoir and cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

13. The combination of the tube B, the

gate 0, its cylinder D, valve d, and piston F, the reservoir G, the tube 1, the tube K, the valve J, the plate N, the plate P, and their connections 0 M m, whereby on the passage of a carrier the valve J is alternately caused to connect and disconnect the reservoir and cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

14. The combination of the tube B, the gate 0, closing the end of the tube, the reservoir G, its connecting-pipe and valve H h, the gate 0, its cylinder D, valve d, and piston F, the tube I, the tube K, the valve J, the plate N, and its connections M m, whereby on the passage of a carrier the reservoir is charged and on its passing over the plate gate 0 is closed, substantially as described.

15. The combination of the tube B, the

,gate 0, its cylinder D, apertures d,and piston F, the reservoir G, the gate '0, its cylinder D, valve cl, and piston F, the tubes I, K, and L, the valve J, the plates N and Band their connections 0 Mm, and means for charging the reservoir, whereby on the passage of a carrier through the tube the gates are alternately closed and opened, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

16. The combination of the tube B, the gate 0, its cylinder D, aperture d, and pistonFf, the reservoir G, its connecting-pipe and valve H h, the gate 0, its cylinder D, valve d, and piston F, the tubes I, K, and L, the valve J, the plates N and P,'and their connections O M m, whereby on the approach and passage of a carrier the reservoir is charged and the gates alternately opened and closed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my handin the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW BRYSON, JR. Witnesses:

WooDBURY LOWERY, M. P. CALLAN. 

